The Springlake-Earth Wolverines are headed to the post-season after finishing District 3-1A with a record of 6-2. They will enter the 1A Baseball play-offs as the two seed.
The Wolverines are 9-5 overall on the season.
Brian Mahler took over the Wolverines baseball program after assisting the last few years. He is assisted this year by Coach Kennan Senter.
“ He has never really been around baseball, but it something happens he looks it up and he asks a lot of questions,” Coach Mahler said. “He’s been great, I bounce a lot of things off of him, because I’m new to this too. Coach Ball has also helped us out some this year too. If he can be there, he is there. I’m able to bounce things off of both of those guys, whether it is football, basketball, baseball or track, we all work really good together as a staff.” Coach Mahler talked about how the kids have bought into his coaching this year, saying, “We didn’t know if we were going to have a team or not. I put it on the kids’ shoulders and told them we had to find two or three more guys to fill out the team and they went out and got some guys to come play. We hit a lot in practice, and we’re aggressive on the base paths. That’s what our game is, is being aggressive.”
He added, “I feel like the kids have had fun this year, we’ve won a lot of games, but it’s not just about the wins and losses. We took a tough loss to close the regular season, and we shouldn’t of lost it, but the kids had their heads up and they helped me keep my head up and told me lets move past it and get ready for the play-offs.”
The Wolverines made it to the Area round of the play-offs last year before getting beat by the Kress Kangaroos.
This year, the Wolverines have a younger roster with just one senior on the team in Alex Alvarez.
“Alex plays center field for us and usually bats third in our lineup,” Coach Mahler said.
The junior class is made up of Xavyer Mosqueda, Slade Beerwinkle, Matthew Garza, Braden Bradley and Wyatt Hill.
“Slade plays shortstop for us and fills in at catcher for us sometimes; he can also pitch for us,” Coach Mahler explained. “Braden plays second for us and can also pitch and Matthew came in last year and helped us out. He is really good at the hot corner, third base, and we’ve also used him on the mound this year. Xavyer is a utility guy for us. Most games he is our starting pitcher, but I can move him around to any position. He just knows baseball.”
He added, “This is Wyatt’s first year playing baseball, he just came back with us. He is really quick, I use him on the base paths as a courtesy runner. He can also play the outfield for us and has a good arm.”
The sophomores are Tyler Tanaro and Timothy Tovar.
“Tyler is our starting catcher this year, after playing first for us last year,” the coach said. “Tyler has also helped us out on the mound this year and has a very solid bat. This is Tim’s first year playing, but he has done a great job for us at first base. He can also play second base or in the outfield wherever we need him.
Coach Mahler stated that they also have three freshman on the roster who contribute in Donovan Stiggers, Robert Flores and Froyland Agundiz.
“Donovan and Robert played summer league last year and Froyland played a little bit as well,” he said. “Froyland competes, he is an athlete. He helps us in the middle infield, when I have to move Slade or Braden, but he can also play right field. He’s a left-handed batter, so that is nice to have in the line-up. Robert usually plays left field and can pitch; he’s also been swinging a hot bat for us lately.”
He added, “Donovan usually plays right field and he may fill in for us on the mound down the stretch in the post-season.”
Coach Mahler talked about how his pitching staff and how they compliment each other, saying, “We usually start with Xavyer; he has a good fastball, and has some offspeed stuff that he uses. After that, we’ll bring in Braden or Tyler. Braden just likes to compete, every time I go out to talk to him he’s like Coach give me one more, give me one more. This is Tyler’s first year to pitch and he has done a good job for us.”
He added, “Froyland gives us another left-hander and does really good for us. Robert has pitched for us this year and has done a good job. Mainly it’s about developing these kids and get that stamina built up for next year. Matthew is another one who has helped us on the mound this year. When he is on, he can pound the zone. We also have Alex and Slade who can give us some outs on the mound.”
Coach Mahler talked about what he’s seen from his offense this year, saying, “Slade leads off for us and he can usually find a way on whether its laying down a bunt or slapping one out in the outfield. Braden bats second and is usually reliable and then Alex is another quick guy who can leg stuff out and is quick on the bases. Xavyer is our four-hole clean-up hitter. He is a power guy. Froyland bats in the five spot; he usually finds a way on and is very quick on the bases.”
He added, “Tim is another guy who finds a way on base. He has the most walks on the team this year. Matthew is another guy who has some power and does a good job for us. Then we round out the line-up with Donovan or Robert, whoever is in. Robert has come on late in the season and has been putting the ball in play and Donovan is another guy who brings a little bit of power. All of our guys have pretty solid on base percentages.”
Coach Mahler stated that his upperclassmen have done a good job of being vocal leaders.
“That junior class does a really good job of taking care of things and getting people where they need to be,” he said. Braden is always making sure guys know where to go with the ball, Xavyer talks to guys in the dugout between innings. Alex being a senior, will be missed next year, but he keeps the outfield going and Tyler behind the dish, he does a good job of talking and Slade also keeps things going smooth for us.”
The coach talked about what their strengths have been this season, saying, “Early on, strengths were hitting and getting runs in. We’ve scored a lot of runs this season and we’ve just been really aggressive on the bases, I bet we have more steals than anybody in the district.”
He added, “We just need to work on continuing to hit the ball and have quality at-bats. We also need to continue to work on our pitching and we need to cut down on the errors at the beginning of games.”
The Wolverines will play Borden County in the first round. Game one will be on Friday at 6 p.m. and Game two will be Saturday at 11 a.m. Game three if needed will be 30 minutes after game two.
“I don’t know a whole lot about Borden County, but we’re going to go out there and play ball and compete,” Coach Mahler said.
All games will be played at Sundown High School.